I can only watch the first two or three sections of this film because I found the subject matter so depressing. It's a very interesting idea for a film, though, and I may revisit it at some point. Meanwhile, I'd prefer to commemorate Easter this year with a more positive message.

Mirroring Christ's journey to his crucifixion, Stations of the Cross tells the story of Maria (Lea Van Acklen), a young teenager drawn into the life of strict Catholicism by her overzealous mother, a woman who sees danger in anything that does not conform to her narrow-minded belief system. Director Dietrich Bruggemann adopts an Ozu-like style, using only fourteen shots over the course of the film, all but two of them static for the duration of the scene. Thanks to an insightful script, subdued but effective acting, and remarkably well blocked shots, the movie is a powerful and damning indictment of the power and danger of blind faith.

Very few of the reviews came close to understanding the import of this film. Without reading what Dietrich Brüggemann and his sister Anna have to say about the film, it's impossible to work out whether the miraculous cure of the heroine's brother was written in to add a layer of spurious complexity and add a trompe l'œile impression of depth, or whether Anna and Dietrich fully understood their own script. I would opt for the former, but in that case, the film has overtaken its makers, and stands as a counter-cultural monument to a disintegrating Germany and Western Europe generally. Most critics, predictably, looked at the window and saw only their own reflection. And that, also, is the story of the modern West. This is a must-watch movie.

Minimal direction perfectly suited to this beautifully acted and scripted film.

Devastating study of fanaticism which does its best not to try to attack religious faith, but does end up taking out most of the fundamentals of Christian belief and seems to swipe quite hard at the nuclear family as well (though nothing is that unambiguous in this measured film), Some over-acting possibly because of the way it was shot and directed, but some inescapably poignant performances from the leads that may well induce feelings of sorrow and anger.

Very bleak film about religious extremism. Beautifully filmed, but I found it ultimately unsatisfying.

Art House picture with a lot of conviction in the style, where the camera never moves and the scenes are long single takes. It does detract somewhat from the arguably heavy storyline that is taking place, which is a subtle critic on devoutness.

Pointless and over-rated.

The camera does not move. This is a movie that does not hide behind super fast editing. The characters, no matter how uncomfortable, are developed in patient and rhythmic style.

BruÌggemann nailed 'Stations of the Cross' in single shot, disturbing realism steeped in atmospheric tone. Unsure if I'm mortified or impressed. Both, perhaps.

I must admit that I approached this with a preconceived notion that it would offer opportunities for snickers and righteous indignation (since I am no fan of the Catholic Church or any church or religion or fanaticism, even vegetarianism). And yet I found this film to be an engrossing, thought provoking commentary on extremism and it's ultimate consequences. The unusual static camera and brilliant composition of each scene is like an antidote to cameras gone wild cinematography, evoking the stillness and reflection that epitomizes what is most attractive about religion. This is art without bells and whistles like music without auto tuning. When the camera finally moves we exhale exhilaration at having witnessed a minor miracle in filmmaking.

14 scenes, one for each of the Stations of the Cross, in which Maria plays the role of Christ, in this indictment of the effects of religious fanaticism on a young impressionable teenager. The camera barely moves, but our eyes remain affixed to the screen because of the compelling acting, particularly by Lea van Acken and Franziska Weisz, who plays Maria's mother. She and the priest of a breakaway Catholic denomination couldn't be more efficient in twisting Maria's mind toward sainthood, and considering how the original story of the cross ended, you can assume that there's not a happy ending in store.

Stations of the Cross is a work of discipline, devout to its order and subject, and Bruggemann levels his camera as though we're sitting in place of God. Cinema at calculated greatness.

Strong acting and a a solid overarching theme make this a nice little film.

An amazing film about not only religious extremism, but depression and its irrational reasoning. Truly deep, understandable characters (the mom is sometimes a bit vague, but even she can be read into). The only reason I don't give this movie 5 stars is because I felt the 14 station titles were pointless, for the story and scenes speak for themselves (unless they were placed for parody), and the terribly untasteful occurrence of the the little brother finally talking, giving depressed kids and religious extrimists hopes in their pursuits.

Religious and children, is sometime uncool. It was surprisingly an amazing movie. Related to the religious thing, but science had a fair amount of display in the narration. You don't have to be religious to watch this film. You know I enjoyed the movie as a subject that portrayed in a conflict manner. In the end, whatever happen or wins are the best conclusion for a cinematic story. The contents are supposed to be the path the human walked through the past 2000 years, not on the interest to raise the issue. The film was clear on the matter, that is how the movie had the upper hand to receive respect everywhere. The story was told in the multiple episodes. The story deals on the basis of the each episode's title that I can clearly say it had something to do with the Christian faith. Because it follows the same order. Since I don't belong to any, it became a study material. From the introduction to the conclusion, it was well maintained pace, that is slow. But in the middle, I was almost drifted away from my concentration. Somehow managed to hold back my position like I always do and finished watching it by liking it very much. You can take the movie and its contents in many angles. It is up to you, but either way the movie succeeds in balancing and revealing the facts. Leaves you make your own verdict, because you know what's right and wrong being a human to believe in religion or in science, which both were the creation of ours. Sometimes these both do not require to understand life, just like the animals which survived alongside us for very long without civilization revolution, religious faith and proper law and order. The point is the one who understands the life and those who don't bother about knowing it, lives better than being confused between the line and seeks the shelter of religious. An easiest camera work for the cinematographer. All he has to do was to place the lens in a right position and that's it, the rest would be monitored on the television screen where the director seated, I believe. Because there is no camera panning except in a couple of places, other than that it was motionless and the characters appears in the front to perform. The cast has to memorise the lines of those scenes that covers up to non-stop 10 minutes. "My religion has put a ban on running in circles in a gym." More like a stage play where setting for one frame (view) is always there and keeps changing for each scene with the different backgrounds what the script demands. My initial thought was, it might have been based on the play, but I still don't know the answer to that. Probably not, because it won an award for the script at the Berlin film festival. Yep, I loved the presentation, it was so cool and beautiful. From this what I have learnt was the involvement of minors in the religious ceremony is kind of inhumane. It's okay to teach them, but some rituals and sacrifice are way beyond acceptable. Those innocent minds have no experience of the difficulty of life, they're yet to explore it. Being poor or someone in the family is very ill should not be the reason to force them to take part. It is the great issue in all the religion. I think physically and mentally affecting take part in the religious ceremony must not be allowed for the underage. I had mild doubt over opting it to view in the earlier, but went for it to refresh from my regular kind of cinema and it did not fail to have my full attention, well I managed, did not I? I am happy I tried to have a different cinema, in fact the filmmakers given the distinct one, so I appreciate them. In the todays world, young film fanatics are addicted to either Hollywood/British or Korean films, but there are plenty of hidden gems in front of us that they're neglecting to have a glimpse. I would recommend this for the adults, they need to watch this more than children and young adults. 7/10

WTF!?!?! WASTE OF TIME.

What happens when you believe in some sort of religion and you act extremely faithfully? Well, in these days with all the Islamic hate, this is a very relevant and terrific film. We meet 14 year old Maria. Her, and her family are living a life that seem far from everyone else's lives in 2014. They are Catholics and nothing is alowed. Marias mother is especially narrow in her thaughts and Maria is taking effect of it. She can't eat more if she feels rather full, she make daily sacrifices from things she like but doesen't REALLY need. Her mother is her mentor and guardian and she even make Maria believe that there are satanic elements in music such as ghospel and Bach. The film is wonderfully shot. Static, almost every one of the 14 scenes are without camera movement. It got a greyish tone and it feels real. Tha acting is lovely and the themes are as shocking as they are absurd. The story is amazingly told and it can make your blod boil at times. Scary, enlightening, masterful film. Ulrich Seidl's "Paradise - Faith" is a close film in many ways - but this is even better exicuted. A wonderful film about the dangers of religious extremism. Bravo! Haleluja! Amen! 9 out of 10 sins.

In short: Wonderful film about the dangers of religious extremism, especially when exposed to at the sensitive teenager age I saw this film at the Berlinale 2014, as part of the official Competition. When reading the synopsis on the festival website, I was afraid at first that the chosen format of 14 scenes with a still camera, numbered and named as per the 14 Stations of the Cross, would effectively work out as a sort of harness. We've seen that many times before, when the format takes over and the contents suffers. Very soon, however, I was put at ease with the opening scene "1. Jesus condemned to death". I could not do anything further than eagerly await the rest of this wonderful film. This initial 10-minute scene foreshadows everything that is to follow. I can say that now in hindsight, since the full extent of whereto this drama is heading, will be gradually handed over in bits and pieces in later parts. The central character is 14 years old Maria, but her hard-lined mother is also a key figure in the drama as it enfolds in 14 distinct scenes. The role of the father figure is next to negligible (even the french au-pair had more lines than he had). Aforementioned first scene shows a priest with a group of 7 boys and girls, sitting around a table, talking about the essentials of what their further life will entail being a true Catholic. They are together in preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation, from which moment on they are expected to stand up for their faith, and to defend it against everything that deviates from the Ten Commandments and the Seven Sacraments, and to further uphold everything else advocated by the Catholic church before Vaticanum II (1962 to 1965). A very clear explanation is given about day-to-day practices, essentially resisting all temptations that are laid on your path by Satan. Another topic is bringing small sacrifices, like not eating a cookie, even when tempted while it seems so harmless. Other forbidden fruits are pop, jazz, soul and other such "modern" (not my words) music styles, allegedly all based on rhythms invented by Satan. Main character Maria belongs to a Catholic family of hardliners, members of the Congregation of St Pius XII, practicing the very traditionalistic teachings of this congregation. Aforementioned opening scene makes perfectly clear that Maria is very prepared to take her faith seriously, including the small sacrifices that may bring her nearer to a good place in heaven. In the second chapter, where the family is walking through a park, she considers her coat and sweater as a luxury and takes them off in spite of the cold weather. She also refuses to smile when family pictures are taken. More such things happen, but she does not explain herself. She succeeds in annoying their mother, and thus unwillingly destroys the happy family atmosphere. We see this mother later on as having a firm hand in the religious upbringing of the children, while the father lets it all pass without interfering. Apparently a side role but his importance becomes evident later on, is Maria's little brother who has not spoken a word since his birth. We get some hints that illnesses and handicaps can be "given" to us as a retribution for our sins, or to challenge the strength of our faith. Gradually Maria gets obsessed with the notion that she can trade her life for the benefit of her brother. She ignores everyone saying such a calling lies in the hand of God, and no one can decide that for himself. Each and every scene that follows further portrays the mutual relations within the family, as well as how Maria interacts with others like school mates. The gym class scene may serve as a perfect example. Maria retracts while there is music played she deems belonging to one of the "Satan invented" categories. That is what she tells to the teacher to explain why she does not participate. One of her class mates makes a joke out of it when he subsequently refuses to run in circles while "forbidden by my religion". Others are more constructive by bringing up the notion of tolerance against other beliefs, indeed a good point to make in such circumstances. Exactly like the opening scene, this gym class scene serves as solid proof that a still camera need not be an obstacle for a vivid scene. Not all chapters, however, go neatly along with their respective titles as literally derived from the 14 Stations of the Cross. A few times we feel an inherent shortcoming of the chosen format, being a very good find as a basic idea but the concept shows a few spurious cracks. Nevertheless, it did not hinder me too much, not feeling as a harness when considering the final product overall. Strong performances by Maria as well as her hard-lined mother make this film into an indictment against any too fundamentalistic belief, whether it regards Islam, a protestant denomination, or Catholicism. Tolerance is the key word here, as rightly brought up by one of Maria's class mates. It cannot be that a strict interpretation of religious laws, or the rules imposed by whatever church, are extended to others being no members of that faith. Believers must allow room for other opinions. Strict adherence laid upon outsiders is always a bad thing, regardless of the good intentions of these religious laws. It can lead to extreme actions, demonstrated by Maria in later chapters of this wonderful film. If anything, it offers food for thought (but no solution) how to deal with people who go to any length to impose their beliefs on others. They probably do that with the best of intentions, but the side effects are worrisome. Some people may find that this film has turned religion into a caricature, uncalled for, but I don't think so, especially when reading the newspapers where we read about religious extremism all over the world.

Christians show us the way of God. Appaling and sick!